Bahrainis fear that education won't lead to relevant jobs

Bahrainis are keen to bridge the gap between their educational preparation and actual job requirements.

Bahrainis are keen to bridge the gap between their educational preparation and actual job requirements, according to the preliminary findings of the QuduratTM research, announced yesterday by Aon Hewitt.

In addition, Bahrainis continue to show lower levels of work engagement than expatriates, which could impact their long-term motivation, performance and productivity at the workplace. The report shows similar results for nationals of all seven countries involved in the study.

Commenting on the findings, Aon Hewitt MENA Applied Research Head Radhika Punshi said: As Bahrain's[2] and the region's economy is in the process of recovering, focus will be on to attract and retain top talents within all industrial sectors, with a greater emphasis on quality.

However, more than ever before, there is a greater urgency for alignment and collaboration between the education system and the demand from the employers, as an increasing number of young men and women seek opportunities for positive and productive employment.Our findings point to a serious mismatch between the education and employment, significantly impacting the expectation and preparation of current and future employees. On a more positive note, there is an awareness among Bahrainis of this mismatch and willingness to address this problem, she added.

Study also found that Bahrainis[3] reported lower levels of engagement in the public sector than in the private sector, and that less than half had confidence in the most senior leadership in their respective organisations.

QuduratTM is the largest workplace study in the region, focused on the advancement of national talent. QuduratTM meaning capabilities in Arabic is unprecedented in scope and scale, voicing the opinion of more than 20,000 employees across seven countries (UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Egypt).

With final results expected to be announced by December, insights from the study are expected to significantly impact HR practices and human capital development in the region.